Examples of past work
Policy & technology packages
National Framework for Salinity Management
For the Iraq Salinity Initiative, a consortium of development and research partners, and some 100 scientists, we worked with program leaders to create a policy and technology package for Iraqi policy makers so they could manage salinity more effectively and attract investment. The Package was also promoted to an additional 40 countries with similar ecosystems and problems. It included a situation analysis, solutions, investment options, a database of research material, and promotional and policy summary materials.
Partners: Italian Cooperation, ICARDA, Government of Iraq.
Managing land degradation in Central Asia and the Mediterranean region
We worked with program leaders to review and synthesize past project results, and developed a package of tested technical solutions and practices that countries across these regions could apply – targeting country planners, policy makers, donors, and development agencies. The initiative included live review and synthesis dialogues with researchers and policy makers to capture and review the results of land degradation interventions, asking the question: what aspects of your project have potential for scaling-up in similar agro-ecosystems?
Partners: IFAD, ICARDA, and government agencies in Central Asia and the Mediterranean region.
Validating agricultural value chains
The HSAD-Iraq initiative brought together technical and policy experts to test technologies and approaches for new value chains to bring income and nutrition security to rural communities. We worked with program leaders to create a package of policy, technical, and implementation guidelines – in English, Arabic and Kurdish – that are freely available for use across the region.
Partners: USAID, ICARDA, and the Government of Iraq.
Linking water management science to policy decisions
We worked with research leadership to create the Water Policy Briefing series that synthesizes peer reviewed research into policy recommendations, primarily for South Asia and Africa.
Partners: IWMI
Technology & policy packages for flood risk management
We ran a live review and synthesis process, coaching 15 senior hydrology researchers on how to transform their technical work into tools for local/national government and the private sector so they can better manage flood risk. The tools developed included web-based mapping and management processes, and information products providing advice on policies and best practices.
Partners: United Nations University, FloodNet Canada.
Selected policy synthesis reports
Addressing climate-induced displacement in the MENA region: a synthesis of evidence that reviews vulnerability to displacement and outlines a strategy to strengthen resilience across the Middle East and North Africa.
Strategies to reduce the emerging wheat stripe rust disease: a synthesis of learning from two global wheat rust conferences between scientists and policy makers from low-income countries.
Conservation agriculture in dry areas: a summary of several years of research on conservation agriculture that explores options for low-income countries.
Gene bank mining tool for crop breeding programs: a new artificial intelligence approach to mining agricultural gene banks – to speed the pace of research innovation for food security.
Agriculture as a solution to climate change: a summary of options countries can adopt to help rural communities adapt to climate change.
Pharmaceutical innovations in Africa: a compilation of dialogue processes with international partners and several African policy makers.
Bamboo and climate change: climate-smart approaches that add value to forestry and agriculture strategies.
Live Review & Synthesis Workshops
We run live review and synthesis workshops with programs and research teams (some 300 participants have been trained). These five-day sessions involve dialogue, group reviews of a body of technical results, and the synthesis of these results into finished policy and learning tools. We have worked with teams from the following organizations and institutions: Tanzania Commission for Science & Technology; Kenya School of Public Health; Makarere School of Public Health & Medical School, Uganda; ENERECA Health program, University of Copenhagen; Philippine Council for Health Research and Development; Malaysia Medical Research Council; Viet-Nam School of Public Health & Research Council; Iraq Salinity Initiative; National water resources teams from several Middle Eastern countries; UN University, Institute of Water, Health & Environment; and FloodNet Research Network, Canada (support provided to ICARDA programs, University of Copenhagen, and COHRED).
